In a night filled with farewells at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid head coach Real Madrid, Alvaro Arbeloa, signed off with a victory as his side edged a six-goal contest against Athletic Club, winning 4-2 on Saturday.
The match carried strong emotional weight, with long-serving defender Dani Carvajal, defender David Alaba and Arbeloa all marking their departures, as Madrid closed what has been a frustrating LaLiga campaign on a positive note.
Carvajal’s 451st and final appearance for Los Blancos began in perfect fashion, as he delivered a superb curling pass into the path of Gonzalo García, who controlled calmly before finishing in the 11th minute to put the hosts ahead.
Madrid doubled their advantage shortly before half-time when Jude Bellingham, the England midfielder, met Thiago Pitarch’s lofted delivery with a crisp left-footed volley that flew past goalkeeper Alex Padilla.
However, Athletic responded in first-half stoppage time in style, as Gorka Guruzeta converted Íñaki Williams’ cross with a sharp first-time finish into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit.
The hosts regained control early in the second half when Kylian Mbappé, the France forward, latched onto Álvaro Carreras’ pass, cut inside and calmly placed his effort into the bottom-right corner to restore a two-goal cushion.
Mbappé continued to threaten, forcing Padilla into a near-post save, while Bellingham also saw a powerful effort denied after a strong stop from the visiting goalkeeper.
The Bernabéu crowd rose again in the 70th minute when Alaba was withdrawn, and later gave Carvajal a standing ovation as both teams formed a guard of honour when he was substituted late on.
There was still time for further drama, as Brahim Díaz added a fourth for Madrid in the closing stages before Urko Izeta headed in a late consolation for Athletic in stoppage time.
Before kick-off, Arbeloa confirmed he would not continue next season, and his players ensured his final home match ended on a winning note, with Mbappé once again leading the charge in attack.
The French star ended the season with 49 goal involvements in 47 appearances across all competitions (43 goals, six assists), surpassing last year’s tally and finishing as Madrid’s most influential attacker.
Madrid also extended their strong home record against Athletic, stretching their unbeaten run in the fixture at the Bernabéu to 21 matches (18 wins, three draws), underlining their dominance in this matchup.
Statistically, Madrid generated 1.85 expected goals from 13 shots, five on target, compared with Athletic’s 0.86 from eight attempts in what also marked Ernesto Valverde’s final game in charge of the visitors.
